Brighter Selling

Footpaths also tipped to boost Brisbane values

by Kate Watt, Marketing Manager 11 November 2015

Footpaths may not be an indicator economists consider when predicting price growth, but Gardening Australia presenter Jerry Coleby-Williams thinks he’s on to a winner with a new Brisbane City Council initiative to pretty up our streets.

The Brisbane-based green thumb will work with Council to create a new set of guidelines for nature strip gardening, according to ABC news and Domain.

And if he gets it right Brisbane home owners could see cash rewards.

“Homes with well-tended gardens sell for around 10 per cent more,” Coleby-Williams told Domain.

Well planted trees can also create shade to keep your house cool and save on air conditioning costs, he said.

Planting a footpath garden is not that simple. The guidelines will need to consider avoiding neighbourly arguments over boundaries and avoiding overhead powerlines, to name a few challenges.

Get it wrong and you could be facing a fine like this Norman Park couple who were fined $5,000 after a neighbour complained about their veggie patch.

And your beloved footpath garden may look like the ideal rubbish bin or graffiti target to someone else.

“You can’t be too sensitive about what happens to the garden outside,” he told ABC news.